


A Gathering Darkness

by MarlynnOfMany



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 03:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarlynnOfMany/pseuds/MarlynnOfMany
Summary: Written before the new show came out, this is one way things might have gone down when the Skeksis' evildoing came to light.Featuring Rian the guard, several winged warrior gelfling ladies, and a Fizzgig who likes biting things.  Likes it a lot.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 5 is objectively the best, since it's narrated by the Fizzgig.
> 
> I had fun writing this. You can probably tell. Feel free to join me on [Tumblr](https://marlynnofmany.tumblr.com) for other writerly shenanigans!

The Rose Sun shone down on the world, illuminating fields less fertile than in previous years, and reflecting off the many facets of the Crystal Castle. Sunlight made its way through windows to light up the inside, bathing the many rooms with a warm glow. One particular reflection changed position as the sun moved, lowering to shine right in the eye of Rian the gelfling, on duty guarding this stretch of hallway. 

He winced and shifted to the side. He wasn’t supposed to leave his post for some time yet, but he could at least stand comfortably. The gelfling sighed, eyeing the path of the sunbeam, which would surely make him move again before his shift was over. 

The sound of wheels alerted Rian, and he stood at attention as two kitchen servants guided a heavy cart down the hallway. Neither gelfling looked up at him, busy as they were with making sure that the towering stack of food supplies didn’t topple over. 

They were doing a good job of balancing things, then a group of hurrying scribes appeared around the corner, nearly plowing into the cart. The gelfling at the front of the cart yanked the handle bars to the side, just barely missing the scribes, but rolling the wheels over an uneven portion of the floor. 

From across the hallway, Rian reached out instinctively as the stack teetered and fell, scattering food everywhere. 

The scribes apologized and immediately began gathering up the fallen supplies. The floor was thick with fruit and cheese wheels and unidentifiable bundles, some of which were still rolling away. 

“I’ll get those,” Rian volunteered as a handful of small melons tumbled down a restricted corridor. The other gelflings thanked him, busy as they were with the rest. Rian trotted after the melons. 

They rolled quickly, and he found himself chasing them much farther than expected. He hoped to bring the things back without being seen. This corridor was off-limits to anyone but the Skeksis, and that meant that he could be in trouble if seen here, guard or not. He’d thought that it would be only a few strides down the hallway to catch the runaway food, but he was now deep in forbidden territory. 

One melon rolled to a stop against the wall. He snatched it up, listening for footsteps. All he heard was the sound of the other melons trundling along. They fetched up against a partly-open door. Rian breathed a sigh of relief, then choked on it when he saw one melon slip inside the doorway and roll out of sight. 

He raced up to the door, trying to move quietly, and he gathered up the armful of rebellious food. There were no sounds from inside the room. 

Rian stood tall -- as tall as any gelfling could -- and knocked on the open door. There was no answer, and the door creaked on its hinges. He pulled it open farther, peering into the room and wondering if it would be better to leave the last melon. But surely that would be trouble for someone when it was eventually found. He didn’t want the kitchen staff blamed for sneaking around the off-limits area. Much better for him to grab it and leave before anyone came. 

The room was full of all the trappings of science -- vials and beakers and unknown tools. Rian pulled back to look for markings on the outside of the door. There were none, but this was definitely the lab of skekTek the Scientist. Whether it was his primary lab or one of many, the humble guard didn’t know, but he did know that he really shouldn’t be there. 

After one more moment of listening for footsteps, he slid inside and crouched to look under the tables. He finally spotted the melon far at the other end of the room, under a row of small cages. Wasting no more time, he hurried across the room, doing his best not to touch anything or make any noise. 

As he knelt to pick up the melon, careful of the others he carried, he realized that the cages weren’t as empty as they’d looked from a distance. Each held a single small animal — there were many types, but every one stood and stared forward with pale eyes. It was unsettling. Rian felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked at them, and he tried to shake it off. This was the Scientist’s business, not his. He grabbed the melon and stood, turning to head for the door. 

On the table in front of him was a glowing blue vial that caught his attention and held it. More than the unnaturally still animals, this strange liquid seemed frighteningly wrong. It had been hidden from view by stacks of books when he passed it the first time, but now the sight of it held him rooted to the spot as all his instincts told him to run. 

It was the sound of one of the melons slipping to the floor that pulled his attention away. Rian bent and captured the thing before it tumbled far, then he hurried for the door without looking at the table. He slipped out and pushed the door shut behind himself, taking off at a dead run back towards his post. 

He tried to tell himself to put the things in that room far from his mind -- it wasn’t his business, and he should leave well enough alone -- but he knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t listen. 

There was something wrong in that room, and he wanted to find out what.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rian learns more things he shouldn't, and it's too late to pretend he saw nothing.

In the days that followed, Rian paid extra attention to any mention of skekTek the Scientist. None of his fellow gelflings seemed to know anything untoward about the noble, and none of the other Skeksis he chanced to see were in the mood to talk about the Scientist. And he wasn’t about to ask. 

Then he got lucky one night after his shift was over. He was walking back to his quarters when he passed a corridor that was usually empty, and he had to double back to look. Two of his fellow guards were stationed in front of a door at the end. 

“Weren’t you two stationed at the lower levels?” he asked, trying to keep his tone even. That door led to another area that was strictly off-limits to the public. 

“Temporary reassignment,” one guard said. “SkekTek needs to spend some time with the Great Crystal, and wants to make sure he isn’t disturbed.” 

“Of course,” Rian said with an awkward nod. “Well, I won’t distract you any further. Have an easy watch!” 

They nodded their thanks as he continued down the hallway, his thoughts spinning. There was no doubt that he would do best to leave the matter alone, but that vial of mysterious blue liquid glowed in his memory -- he had to know what it was and why it felt so wrong. 

One perk of guard training was the extra knowledge of the castle’s layout. They weren’t told everything by far, but the guards did get to know about secondary entrances to all the important rooms, in case there was ever an emergency there. 

That included the room that housed the Great Crystal. 

He walked quietly but with purpose, so no one who saw him would think he was sneaking about. But he was, in fact, definitely sneaking about. He took a side corridor and several winding turns, then climbed up a narrow staircase to reach an area of the next level that was rarely accessed. He’d never gone this way before. He’d always wanted to. 

Rian crept forward to peer over the balcony railing for his first view of the Great Crystal. It lit up the chamber, though less brightly than Rian had expected. He’d always heard of the brilliant illumination of the Crystal, connected as it was to the living energy of the world itself. But this light was dark somehow, almost purplish, which was worrisome enough by itself. 

Then he noticed skekTek the Scientist and his companion. 

The birdlike Skeksis was holding up shards of crystal, looking through them at the Great Crystal, then setting each down and picking up a new one. He chattered away in the echoing chamber, possibly to himself and possibly to the silent podling at his side, who held the tray of shards without moving a muscle. Dead-white eyes stared straight ahead, exactly like the animals in the lab. 

Rian was so distracted by this sight that he missed most of what the Scientist was saying. It was only when skekTek mentioned a crack in the Crystal that he started paying attention. 

“...Lucky we are that the Crystal was cracked, yes, and by Skeksis hands,” the Scientist remarked with pleasure. “It freed such wonderful dark energy. Years of studying it, and I’ve still barely scratched the surface. Cracked it, you might say!” He burst out in raucous laughter at his own joke, pausing a moment before resuming his study. 

Rian looked at the Crystal, scanning the surface for cracks. One spot at the top looked darker, but it was hard to see at this angle. He pulled back from the edge and crept to the side until he was at a better viewpoint. 

It _was_ cracked -- there was even a small piece missing. How had he not heard of this? SkekTek kept talking while Rian stared. It was obvious now that he was talking to the podling, who looked even more pale and withered from here. 

“You know better than most how useful that dark energy is,” the Scientist said as he grabbed another shard from the tray. “Such a good thrall you are.” He tapped the podling’s head with a shard. “Too bad your essence was so weak.” SkekTek turned back to the Crystal with a snort of amusement. “Weak, bad-tasting, and its effects wore off in moments! So clever I am to try using gelfling essence instead. Now that’s some real potency!” 

Rian shrank back in horror. Suddenly it made sense. The vial had been gelfling “essence,” which surely wasn’t meant to be taken from a living thing. If that podling had had its essence drained, and it looked like _that..._

Rian set his jaw. This couldn’t go on. But before he told anyone else, he would need proof -- his word against that of a noble Skeksis wouldn’t be enough. 

He’d have to find out where this essence draining took place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rian witnesses something, and it's worse than he expected.

When Rian found the workshop, he was unprepared for what he found inside. The secret room deep in the bowels of the castle was vast, with dozens upon dozens of gelflings chained in various stages of mindlessness. Some of them looked barely able to move, while others shuffled about tending to chores without a word or change in expression. A few seemed almost alert, though very tired and prematurely aged. 

Rian took all this in from the barely-opened door, peering through the gap and thinking back to the runaway melon that had led him to a different door. He silently thanked the melon before pushing the door open enough to slip inside. 

The thralls doing chores walked past him without batting an eye, but the more alert gelflings noticed. They immediately began calling for help. 

“Shush, someone will hear!” he cautioned them, running over and inspecting the locks. “I’ll get you out. What has he been doing to you?” The description that they gave him as he searched for a key was a chilling one. 

“SkekTek uses reflections from the Great Crystal to drain our essence,” one gray-haired woman told him. “See those openings in the far wall? The crystal shards on the other side redirect the light into the eyes of anyone sitting in those chairs.” 

Rian saw. He also saw the rows upon rows of blue vials on a bookshelf, each with a label. Even from across the room he could feel how wrong they were. 

“Do you know where he keeps the keys?” he asked the prisoners. Their answer was unanimous: skekTek kept them with him. “Of course he does. Looks like we’ll do this the hard way, then.” He looked around now for something heavy enough to break the locks. 

Then he heard the voices in the hallway. 

“You will be pleased, Most Excellent and Pleasant Smelling Highness!” said the voice of skekTek the Scientist. “This latest batch is far superior. The newly selected crystal shards reflect the light in a more pure form.” 

“I had better be pleased,” grated a different voice. “Your previous efforts were severely disappointing. I was starting to think that I would be better suited assigning this task to someone else.” 

“Oh no, your Greatness! You will be most delighted in its strength!” 

Rian scrambled for somewhere to hide. SkekTek was bringing the Emperor in, and he would be dead if they caught him. Dead or worse. 

“There, by the door!” a prisoner suggested. He saw a table overflowing with parchments, and dove under it just as the door creaked open. 

“Come, your Excellence, and sample some of the best gelfling essence.” 

“I should like to see your improvements to the extraction process as well.” 

“Oh yes, of course! Right this way.” 

Rian huddled under the table and tried not to sneeze. There were piles of dust sharing the floor with fallen tools and unnamed trash. It was musty, uncomfortable, and the only thing keeping him alive. 

He heard the sound of a cork being removed, then of the Emperor drinking. Apparently this batch was as good as skekTek had claimed, since appreciative noises filled the air. 

Then the Emperor insisted on watching the extraction process. 

Rian had to stay there, clenching his teeth, while a gelfling was selected from one of the cages and strapped into a chair. He heard the Scientist directing thralls in the lowering of the appropriate crystal shard. He heard the Emperor comment on the placement of the collection vial. 

He heard the prisoner scream. 

Rian had to look. He pulled back the corner of a parchment to see the shard lowering into view, glowing with reflected light that shone into the gelfling’s eyes while the two Skeksis watched. Rian’s mind raced, searching for anything he could do to stop this, and coming up blank. If he burst out into the open, demanding an end to it, then he would just wind up in a different chair. Freeing the nearest prisoners would end the same, since there was no way to do it without being seen. 

“I’m sorry, my friends,” Rian whispered. “I will come back for you.” While the Skeksis’ eyes were on the slow drip of essence, Rian slipped out from under the table and through the open door. 

He ran for all he was worth, with the screams of the gelfling in his ears.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rian spread the word. Now the gelfling spy squad is here to confirm it.

Jul stood second in line as the door guards looked over the paperwork. She would have preferred to be the one leading this mission, but the honor logically fell to the only one of the three who was familiar with the castle layout. 

The fact that this was someone from the Woodland clan grated on Jul’s Spriton pride. Woodlanders weren’t better at anything; they just thought they were. This would be a test of Jul’s patience. 

The guards handed back the paperwork and waved them through. Jul nodded and passed by with her two fellow infiltrators. She reminded herself not to let personal feelings get in the way of work. She was a professional, after all. 

And the leaders of all seven clans were depending on them to bring back proof of Skeksis wrongdoing. This was not the time to be distracted. 

Even if the Woodlander was unbearably smug. 

“The barracks are to the right,” Teala said in a low voice as they crossed the entrance chamber. Her eyes flicked side to side. “The stairs to the lower levels are on the left, but we’ll look suspicious if we go that way now. We’ll go right, then circle back through different corridors.” 

Jul nodded her understanding. 

Cerra-Sar asked for details, pointing out that they should all know as much as possible about how to reach the doors later. The tiny Sifa clan gelfling was supposed to be fast and agile, valuable in getting in and out of places quickly. But everyone knew she was really there to fly home faster than the others if things went south in a hurry. One way or another, they would get a report back to the matriarchs. 

The Woodlander led them on a roundabout path through the castle’s ornate corridors, back and forth and ever downward. Jul had a general idea of which way was out, and she was certain that Cerra-Sar had already mapped the place out perfectly in her mind. The Sifa seemed to have a good memory for things that related to survival. The longer they walked, though, the more Jul wondered if any of them would remember how to reach the surface. 

Other gelflings passed them in the halls, usually giving polite nods because of the guard uniforms they wore. They didn’t encounter one of the Skeksis themselves, but Jul hadn’t expected to. The nobles had important work to be doing. 

Hopefully none of that work was being done in the room they were looking for. But if it was, they were ready. Jul had more weapons hidden in her uniform than any four regular guards, and the others were similarly armed. They had been instructed not to engage in actual battle if at all possible, but they were prepared. 

“There it is,” Teala muttered as the lower entrance to the restricted area came into view. “I’ll do the talking. You two walk past like you have somewhere to go.” She stepped forward and greeted the guard stationed there. Jul and Cerra-Sar marched past with curt nods as Teala explained that the guard was needed urgently at the captain’s office. 

Jul turned a corner and stopped, motioning Cerra-Sar to wait with her. They stood against the wall and listened as Teala finished convincing the guard that she was his replacement. His footsteps tapped off down the hallway, and soon Teala called for them to join her. 

“This part is off-limits to everyone, right?” Jul asked as she rejoined the Woodlander. At Teala’s nod, she continued. “Then you don’t know more than we do about the layout. I’ll go first.” She didn’t wait for a reply, turning on her heel to stalk quietly down the corridor. After a moment she heard two sets of footsteps behind her. 

Everything in this part of the castle was silent. Jul listened for any signs of life, but heard nothing. That was good. She thought back to the directions that Rian had given them, at the matriarchs’ suggestion. He’d said that the doorway to the essence-draining room had no markings, but it was near several distinct crystalline structures. 

Jul found them without trouble. Elaborate outcroppings of raw crystal were hard to miss, especially at this level where many of the walls were made of gray rock. She pointed them out unnecessarily, and the other two gelflings nodded their understanding. The door was right where Rian had said it was. 

All three infiltrators gathered close, pressing their ears against the wood. Everything was silent. Jul put one hand on the dagger in her belt and her other hand on the doorknob. She took a deep breath and turned it. 

The door opened with a slight creak. Jul froze, but nothing happened. She pushed it farther, and stuck her head inside. 

There were the cages and there were the chairs with straps, but they were all empty. Not a single gelfling captive awaited rescue, willing to confirm Rian’s report. 

But the bookcase of vials was still full. 

_He was right,_ Jul thought as she stepped into the room, her eyes trained on the glowing liquid. _They do feel wrong._ She started forward as the others slipped through the door behind her. 

Two things happened at once. Something moved in an alcove that she hadn’t seen from the door, and furious growling filled the air. Jul whirled, knives appearing in her hands, and found herself face to face with the oldest podling she’d ever seen. 

It wasn’t growling. 

“There!” Cerra-Sar exclaimed, pointing across the room. Smaller cages were lined up next to the gelfling-sized ones, and something fluffy was throwing itself against the bars of one. 

Jul looked back at the podling. It was holding a feather duster and staring blankly at her. Its skin was covered in wrinkles, its hair was pure white -- and its eyes were just as pale. Jul lowered her daggers. 

Teala approached the ancient creature. “Hello,” she said. “Can you understand me?” Its expression didn’t change. She looked at Jul. “Looks like we’ve found someone to rescue after all.” 

Jul nodded. “We should take one of those too,” she said, pointing a dagger at the essence vials. 

“What about this little guy?” Cerra-Sar asked, walking over to the cage where the violent gnashing of teeth had turned into pitiful whimpers. 

“That depends,” Teala said. “Do you think you can keep it quiet? Or will it just alert everyone to where we are?” 

Cerra-Sar was unfastening the cage. Jul holstered her daggers and said, “Careful it doesn’t bite you; those things have more teeth than they should.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT IS THE FIZZGIG'S TIME TO SHINE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have enjoyed writing this chapter more than the others. You can probably tell.

Snapper the Wise licked the hands of the wing-person who opened his cage. He purred and chattered happily, letting her lift him out and hold him close. This was a good wing-person. Much better than the big ugly people. 

The others looked good too, though they were too distracted to give him a proper greeting. His wing-person brought him close to where they stood next to the pale person. They made talking noises to it, though he could have told them it wouldn’t answer. The pale ones only listened to the ugly masters. 

Now the wing-people were moving toward the door, pushing the pale one ahead of them. It didn’t move quickly, but it walked when they pushed it. Snapper wondered if it would move faster if he gave it a bite to encourage it. 

His wing-person stroked his fur and spoke quietly. The others were talking in whispers, obviously trying to be sneaky. Snapper whuffed and nuzzled the wing-person’s hand to show that he understood. He didn’t want the ugly people to find them either. 

They walked slowly. After a while the biggest wing-person stopped pushing the pale one and simply picked it up, struggling a little to get her balance, but managing. The pale one hung limp over her shoulder, and the wing-person started walking again, more quickly this time. The others hurried to catch up. 

They walked for a long time. Snapper would have liked to get down and run, but his wing-person seemed to like carrying him, so he let her. It was the least he could do in thanks for being rescued. He’d get to run later. By the smell of the air, they were almost up to the higher levels. 

A sudden draft carried smells that told Snapper they had actually climbed above ground level. It also carried footsteps, and the clank of weapons. 

The lead wing-person waved them down a different corridor, away from the sounds. They hurried, but the footsteps followed. The wing-people whispered urgently to each other. Snapper wondered if it would help if he got down and bit the people following them. 

Someone appeared in the hallway ahead: a wing-person without wings. Male, then. Snapper’s three wing-people strode past the male with a few quick talking sounds and nods of their heads. Snapper bared his teeth and growled quietly. Then they were past and around a corner and the footsteps were getting closer and the male was talking to other people behind them... 

The wing-people were running now. They climbed a staircase and raced in the direction of the fresh air. 

But that staircase lost them some time. The people behind them weren’t carrying anything, and they appeared at the top of the stairs just as Snapper’s people left the room. He heard one shout. 

They didn’t run after them, though, which was good. Snapper was pleased until the same group of people appeared out of a side corridor up ahead. 

What cheats! They definitely deserved a biting. But his wing-people were running a different way, though the others chased after them this time. After a few turns, Snapper saw an open window ahead. They were heading toward it. Would they reach it before the other people caught them? Snapper twisted to look back, but his wing-person held him tight. 

Then the big one carrying the pale person looked back and shouted something at the others. She skidded to a stop, yelling back at their pursuers and setting the pale one on its feet. Everyone stopped running. 

Snapper whined. The window was so close, and the outside smelled wonderful. It was still daytime and everything. But the people were making talking sounds at each other, and no one was doing anything important. 

Could he bite someone yet? Would that help? No? No biting? But talking was so boring. He snuffled his objections. 

To his surprise, the wing-person actually put him down. He looked up at her in confusion. She patted him on the head and stood, both hands on the pointy things that hung at her waist. The other two were doing the same thing, though the pale one stared at a wall. 

One of the pursuers said something that sounded angry. Snapper saw that they were all holding pointy things with the points aimed in their direction, and the way they stood said they were ready to fight. His wing-people made more talking-sounds, but nothing changed. The pointy things were still being waved at them. 

His people whispered quickly. They started edging back toward the window, pulling the pale one with them. 

The others didn’t like that. They spread out and stepped forward with their pointy things raised. His people broke and ran for the window, with the pursuers right after them. 

They ignored Snapper. That was stupid of them. 

He wasted no time in living up to his name, sinking double rows of teeth into the first leg that came near. He dropped and rolled away, springing to his feet and launching himself at another. 

Yay, he got to bite things! 

The disciplined charge turned into a chaotic mass of legs and shouting, then a shadow flashed past and one of the people fell down hard. 

Snapper looked up to see his wing-person gliding down the hallway with impressive speed, kicking off the walls to stay in the air. She also kicked the wingless people, who would have all been aiming at her if not for the big wing-person who charged them with a roar. 

Snapper roared too, and continued biting. The shadow of his wing-person flitted back to the window. He heard her voice over the stomping and yelling, and he heard the big wing-person answer. She was backing toward the window where the others waited with the pale one. Snapper took a chunk out of someone getting too close. 

That one fell back and he crouched to leap at another, then found himself lifted into the air. What! He opened his mouth to bite, then realized it was the big wing-person. She said something, then turned and threw him at the window. 

The other wing-people had already climbed out, with the pale one held between them, and they leapt into space as Snapper flashed past them as a ball of teeth and terror. 

The moat was a _long_ way down. 

Snapper shrieked and pawed at the air, panicking as he fell, then something grabbed his fur. What? Where? He squirmed and looked up to see the two wing-folk with their pale cargo. They had doubled back to catch him. Snapper barked and whined happily, doing his best to lick the hand that held him. The wing-person smiled and said something that was lost in the wind. 

He looked past her at the window, which was already far away. 

The big wing-person hadn’t jumped out yet. He watched as the window receded into the distance, but nothing appeared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad guys be conspirin'.

“Greetings, Your Excellency,” said skekNa the Spy Master, bowing until the decorative crest on his head nearly scraped the floor. 

“Come in, skekNa,” the Emperor replied from his throne. He lounged, a picture of regal irritation with a new set of display fans held in his secondary arms. These fans were dyed in vibrant reds and purples, made of animal membrane whose source was the Emperor’s alone. Lesser Skeksis could make do with fans of plants and feathers; the Emperor outmatched them all for brilliance. 

And he had a knack for using gestures to indicate his displeasure. 

“I hope you have news,” the Emperor said with a subtle tilt of his fans. “One might say it looks bad for you, when the Scientist accomplishes more by accident with a single spy-eye on his pet.” 

Stung, the Spy Master straightened up, his own lesser fans held humbly behind him. “Your Greatness, that was but a stroke of luck on his part. He simply wanted to see what the podling would do when left to its own devices.” 

“Yes, and it got itself stolen away, taken to a mutinous gathering that your spies hadn’t yet learned about!” the Emperor hissed, his fans flaring. 

“Sire, they were about to--”

“It matters not!” the Emperor said with a sharp motion of one clawed hand. He sat back in the throne, shifting his fans to the side. “Now, do you have anything worthwhile to tell me, or are you wasting my time?” 

The Spy Master composed himself. “Sire, I have distressing news to report,” he said. “The gelflings have been consulting the fires of prophecy. What they learned may be the downfall of our great empire!” 

“Spit it out!” the Emperor urged, leaning forward again. “What did this prophecy say?” 

The Spy Master pulled out a piece of parchment and read from it. "When single shines the triple sun, what was sundered and undone shall be whole, the two made one, by gelfling hand, or else by none." He looked up at the Emperor. 

“The next Great Conjunction,” the Emperor said with a frown. “Is there more?” 

“There are pictures, your Most Exaltedness,” said the Spy Master. “They show a gelfling restoring the lost shard to the Crystal. This, combined with the power of the Great Conjunction, will make the Skeksis no more. UrSkeks will reign once again.” 

The Emperor slammed his fist against the arm of the throne, fans flashing about his head. “That must never happen! These mutinous gelflings will suffer.” He got to his feet and began pacing, each step a flare of color. “After all the good we have done for them, a worldwide empire of trade that the simple-minded creatures would never have had the brains to create for themselves! A century of benevolent leadership, and now this!” 

“It is unfortunate that they learned of the essence extraction,” ventured the Spy Master. 

The Emperor turned to glare at him. “Unfortunate indeed!” he said. “And if I ever catch anyone who had to do with that discovery, they will wish I had them killed!”

The Spy Master bowed his head. “Yes, sire.” 

“We will have to act,” the Emperor said, pacing again. “I want all of your spies to focus on this mutinous Gathering, and on finding out what the gelflings plan next. I will stop this revolution of theirs before it starts.” He whirled to point a claw at the Spy Master. “Then I will make sure they never dare to try it again!” 

“As you say, sire,” the Spy Master agreed. “They will learn to fear you.” 

“Yes they will.” The Emperor tapped a claw against his beak thoughtfully. “We will need a means of enforcing our will, if the general gelfling population can’t be trusted.” 

“SkekUng had some ideas about the creation of dangerous things, sire,” the Spy Master volunteered. “He said they would answer only to Skeksis.” 

“Good! Send him to me. We will need such beasts if the gelflings are stubborn.” The Emperor resumed his throne, sitting tall with a fierce look in his eyes, surrounded by fans the color of blood. “Perhaps an example should be made.” 

“What example, sire?” prompted the Spy Master. 

“If they don’t disband this silly mutiny of theirs, I think I’ll destroy a city.” The Emperor steepled his fingers with a crooked smile. “Maybe a clan. I’ve never liked those Spritons; they have too much fight in them. They would be much better suited to the essence-draining cages.” He chuckled to himself. 

“Shall I go send my spies out, sire?” asked the Spy Master. 

“Yes, do it with haste,” the Emperor said. “This is the dawn of a new era. The gelflings with their mutinous plans have no idea of our true power. Prophecy indeed. Bah! It will never happen. They will grovel at our feet, and wish they hadn’t dared to speak against the great Skeksis.” He fixed the Spy Master with a piercing glare. “Go! Send out your spies, and call skekUng to me. We have much planning to do.” 

The Spy Master bowed and left, hurrying out of the room while the Emperor cackled quietly behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running and fighting and throwing rocks.

Rian scrambled through the forest, breathing hard. The Spriton village wasn’t far, but the twisting vines and fallen trees made this part of the Dark Wood impossible to move through quickly. 

But he had to be quick. Lives depended on it. 

If he’d heard sooner that the Spritons were planning an attack, if they had trusted his own Woodland clan to help them, maybe things would be different. But as it was, he had to try to talk them out of a suicide run. 

Rian ducked under a branch and leapt a creek, thinking for the umpteenth time of how much he missed his landstrider. But leaving it behind had been the right thing to do. With underbrush this thick, the long-legged riding beast wouldn’t be any faster than he was. 

Something fluttered past overhead, catching his eye. He glanced up to see an ill omen: a crystal bat. He instantly dove under an overhanging shrub, hoping that it wouldn’t circle back. 

It didn’t, but another coming from the same direction did. This wasn’t good. He knew that the Skeksis would have their weapons ready to protect the castle, but the fact that these spies were so far into the forest meant that the enemy forces would be more than ready when the Spritons arrived. They would have advance notice of the attack, and probably a good idea of how many warriors were marching towards them. 

Then there was the fact that the crystal bat’s interest in him might mean dangerous things were on his trail too. 

Not if he could help it. Rian took stock of the few things he carried before settling on a simple rock pried out of the ground. There were enough here to give him several shots, though hopefully he wouldn’t need more than one. 

As the crystal bat slowed to bank around a tree, Rian rose to his feet, aimed, and threw with all his might. Then he ducked back under the bush. 

The rock clipped the bat, sending it spinning toward the muddy ground. Rian grabbed another rock and aimed again, this time scoring a direct shot that splintered the crystal that held the evil thing together. 

It fluttered into pieces, no longer pretending to be alive. And more importantly, no longer transmitting images back to its Skeksis masters. 

Rian searched the air for more of the things. Leaves flapped in the wind, but no bat wings. After a moment, he picked up a rock in each hand and took off again at a run. He didn’t have any time to waste, and there was still a ways to go. 

Rian’s heart was beating like a festival drum by the time he reached the outermost sentries. They stepped from their hidden posts and aimed arrows at his head, telling him to state his business. Rian had to pause to catch his breath before he could answer. 

“You have to call off the attack,” he gasped. “Everyone will die.” 

“Our battles are none of your affair, Woodlander,” said the taller of the two sentries, a man whose hair had long since turned gray. “Go back the way you came.” 

Rian looked from one sentry to the other, noticing how old they both were. Older than a sentry had any right to be, unless there was no one else. “They’ve already left, haven’t they?” he asked. “How long ago? Which path did they take? Please tell me! They’re marching to their death! The Skeksis have new--” 

The sentry cut him off by stepping forward, pressing a nocked arrow against Rian’s chest. “Go home,” the old man said. “We can take care of ourselves.” 

Rian appealed desperately to the other sentry, but got the same answer. He considered trying to find a Spriton who knew him, someone who would listen, but there wasn’t enough time. And even if he could get someone to believe him, the warriors were already gone. 

Well, there were only a few routes they could have taken, and he knew where they planned to go. There was only one thing left to do. 

With a glare for the sentries, he turned and ran back the way he had come. This time he would take a route that his landstrider could use. 

The forest seemed more tangled this way. By the time he reached his landstrider, it was all he could do to stay on his feet. The creature ambled over to him, still chewing the fruit it had been grazing on. Rian gave it a scritch behind the ears before hauling himself onto its back and urging it forward. 

He got his breath back as the ground flew by beneath him, but his heart still beat urgently. Even the landstrider’s speed didn’t feel like enough. He leaned into the pace of the gallop, trying not to think of what might be happening to the Spriton forces at that very moment. He hadn’t seen the new war machines that the Skeksis had produced, but he knew people who had, and their descriptions were terrifying. The Spritons had no idea what they were walking into. Until now, all they’d had to deal with were other gelflings, whose loyalty the Skeksis had bought and bartered and blackmailed. This fight would _not_ be like the last. 

The land rose and fell, and Rian thought he could see a dust cloud in the distance. His heart sank. That wasn’t the dust of marching feet -- the Spritons stepped too lightly for that, and the Dark Wood was too green, even at its fringes. 

No, that was warfare on the Skarith Plains. He urged the landstrider to greater speeds, hoping he was wrong. But the closer they got, the more he was sure that he heard sounds of weaponry and shouting. 

They reached a rise at the edge of the plains, and Rian called his landstrider to a halt. He started to pat the creature’s neck in thanks, then paused mid-motion as he took in the scene below. 

It was a massacre. The ranks of Spriton warriors were scattered into desperate clumps, and many of them lay still on the ground. The survivors were throwing everything they had at their monstrous enemies, but it did no good. 

_So those are the Garthim,_ Rian thought numbly. The hulking things were armored like enormous sea creatures, with thick black carapaces and sharp pincers more than capable of slicing a gelfling in two. They scuttled across the ground on many legs, climbing over boulders and bodies with equal ease. And not a single weapon seemed to hurt them. 

_What can I do?_ Rian thought. _Even if I can get the warriors to retreat, those things will just follow them. All the way back to -- where are those going?_

A few of the Garthim had split off from the rest, and were leaving the battlefield. He looked around wildly for any other Spriton forces that he hadn’t seem before, but the plains were empty. 

They were leaving the plains. Heading for the Dark Wood. 

_The village!_ Rian wheeled his landstrider and sent it racing toward the forest. The Garthim were fast, but the landstrider was faster. 

As long as it stayed on an open pathway. 

_I think there’s a route free of vines here,_ Rian thought. _It’ll take us to a different set of sentries. Hopefully they’ll listen to me, and evacuate the village. They have to!_

He hoped with all his heart, but knew deep down that the proud Spritons wouldn’t consider leaving until it was too late.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foreshadowing of things to come.

Eventually there came a day when Garthim raids went unnoticed, because there was no one left to see. Gelflings were captured, those who fought back were killed, and their homes were destroyed. The Garthim took their few captives straight to the castle, where their essence was drained immediately. 

The Skeksis were eager for any new essence. They had already used up the rest. 

When the Garthim raided the last enclave of the Vapra clan, they left very little behind. Piles of wood that were once houses. Food strewn on the ground. Torn weaving looms. Crushed musical instruments. 

And, carefully hidden in a hollow tree, one gelfling infant. 

Her mother had placed her there moments before being snatched up by a Garthim. The child had been too terrified to make a noise, remaining quiet until the destruction was finished and the monsters had thundered away. 

Even then, she lay quietly. Time passed. Somehow she fell asleep, only waking when the suns had set and the air grew cold. 

Only then did she cry. 

Loudly and with all her heart, as only an infant could, knowing only that nothing was right and someone needed to comfort her. 

Someone did. 

Gentle hands lifted her from the tree, and she looked up to see mismatched eyes gazing back. A voice spoke gently, holding her close for warmth. She felt herself being carried far away from the home that was no more. 

She fell asleep again, and woke when she was set on a doormat in front of a round building. The awkward person with the mismatched eyes knocked on the door, causing the infant to cry at the noise. Then he was gone. 

The door opened, spilling light, warmth, and concerned adults. They were smaller than the people she remembered, but they were kind. She was instantly welcomed into their home. 

* * * * * 

The next day, a similar scene played itself out at another village, this one of refugee Woodland gelflings, and the very last of their kind. The Garthim knocked over tapestries drying by the cooking fires, and flames spread through the village as they reduced it to rubble. 

With all this chaos, it was easy to miss the tiny child who crawled under a fallen log to hide. 

He stayed there as his home was torn down around his ears. When the Garthim finally left, the fires had spread into a growing blaze that would take rainfall to quench. 

Frightened, the child stayed under the log as the flames crept nearer. There were monsters outside, and they would get him if he left his shelter. 

When hands suddenly plucked him from safety, he cried out -- then quieted when he saw that it wasn’t a Garthim. 

It was a strange person with mismatched eyes, who spoke kindly and carried him away from the fire. 

They traveled far, leaving the burnt village behind and heading toward a distant valley that was completely unlike the forests that the young gelfling had always known. 

It was much later in the day when they reached the entrance, venturing down a sloping path in silence. The child found himself deposited in front of a doorway that held only a woven cloth instead of a door. 

The stranger picked up a rock and clacked it against the wall before scampering upward out of sight. 

He didn’t get far before a voice called him back. 

“Hello, Raunip,” said urSu. “Did you see the prophecy too?”

Raunip turned to see the Mystic draw back the curtain and lift the child, cradling him with all four of his arms. 

“Yes, I did,” he answered, holding his position on the path. “I saw more than the gelflings did.” 

UrSu looked up at Raunip’s unique eyes. “I imagine so,” he said. 

“This is the only way,” Raunip told him. “Keep the child safe.” 

UrSu nodded. “I will,” he said, turning to go back inside. “For all our sakes.”


End file.
